Waterloo Bridge, a beautiful structure, which has the credit of being considered the longest stone bridge in Europe, is perfectly level. Half a million of money was expended in its erection, and a still larger amount in the approaches to it. It was named after the famous battle of Waterloo, and was first opened on the anniversary of that memorable conflict. whole breadth of the river. The centre | to the south. I am no longer standing arch includes a space of two hundred on London Bridge, but in the Thames and forty feet, being nearly forty feet Tunnel, more than seventy feet below more than the height of the Monument. high water mark. The deep descent, The amount of metal required for the the lengthened arches, the retiredness construction of this bridge was above of the place, the line of lamps, and the five thousand tons. The toll demanded knowledge that the river is rolling over of the passenger, is, to a perambulator my head, these altogether impart a like me, a pleasant thing, for it so re- novelty of feeling that is not unpleasant duces the numbers of passers by, that to me. There is a little of romance in he can linger there for the hour, with the whole that gives an interest to every his pencil and paper, without incon- thing I gaze on. The miners, the venience. How gladly do I give that bricklayers, and the visitors add life penny which many grudge to pay y! to the scene. On descending the shaft, I thought to myself, "Into what strange situations curiosity leads mankind!" And I might have added, womankind too, as I will now explain. Years ago I was cooped up in this place with a princess; standing on the same plank with the grand duchess Helene, sister to the emperor of all the Russias. It happened that she visited the Tunnel when I was here, and went to the extreme point where the workmen were employed. There was no space in which to practise etiquette, so her grace and the nobles that attended her, Mr. Brunel, the architect, and I, the meanest of the throng, were cooped up together. There were two ladies present, and not knowing which was the grand duchess, I asked a royal duke at my elbow to inform me, and this he did with great politeness. The duchess, who was then on the same plank with me, turned round and smiled archly at my question. Had she been a peasant instead of a princess, this record of the event had never been made by me. Where there is an inclination to be vain, what a trifling circumstance will puff up the heart! The bridge of Blackfriars is named from a convent of black friars, which once stood in its neighbourhood. He who wishes to secure the best view of St. Paul's Cathedral, should take his stand on its centre arch. From this place, the Monument, the Tower, Somerset House, and Westminster Abbey, are all seen to advantage, as well as a considerable part of the city. To say nothing of coaches, carriages, omnibuses, wagons, vans, carts, gigs, and horses, not less than sixty thousand passengers are said to cross the bridge during the day. Besides the suspension bridge at Hammersmith, there are Westminster, Vauxhall, Battersea, Fulham, Kew, Kingston, Hampton Court, Richmond, and Walton bridges. But I have now written enough on this subject. The sun is breaking out over the Tower, and the day promises fair. I have swallowed fog enough this morning for a whole month, ay, for two months. Who would have thought that such a watery-looking sky would so soon have cleared up ? Yet, oft amid the murky shroud And often, too, with waving wings, A few hours are passed, and the king of day is midway on his journey While standing here, three or four timorous visitors, who had ventured past the middle of the excavation, and looked along the row of lamps to the end, have hurried past me, in evident apprehension, lest the vaulted roof above them should give way, and let the Thames into the tunnel. There they go, as though they were escaping for their lives. This excavation is a wondrous enterprise. Bold in its design, and difficult in its execution, it has arrived at a point which has ensured its success, as the most dangerous part of the work can now be carried on at low water, when, indeed, there is no water over the workmen. Accidents have occurred, lives have been lost, and seemingly | Christians met bishop Wilson, and had insurmountable impediments have presented themselves, but untiring perseverance has won its way through every difficulty. The Thames Tunnel, when completed, will not only be an important channel of communication between the two sides of the river, over which a bridge could not have been built at this point, but also a triumphal arch commemorating the success of enterprise, resolution, skill, and perseverance, and commanding the admiration of the world. PAPISTS CONVERTED. DR. THOMAS CARR, who had been stationed in India for more than twenty years, on his way to his diocese, after being appointed bishop of Bombay, related the following incident to his fellow traveller, the Rev. John A. Clark, an American minister. "Some year or two since, he accompanied Dr. Wilson, bishop of Calcutta, on a tour of visitation through a part of his extensive diocese. On their way, they touched at Aurungabad, a city under Mohammedan jurisdiction, being a part of the Nizamb's dominion, whose imperial court is stationed at Hydrabad. It so happened, that the Nizamb, or portion of his army, were, at this very time, at Aurungabad. One morning, while they were at breakfast, a man, who was evidently a native of Hindostan, called, and preferred a request to the bishop, that he would attend the funeral of a deceased child. The bishop of course inquired, if the parents of the child were Christians, to which inquiry an affirmative answer being received, both bishop Wilson and Dr. Carr felt a strong desire to know by what instrumentality the parents of this child had embraced the Christian faith, as they were natives of India. They learned, upon inquiry, that they were followers of Nizamb's camp. All who were employed as domestics or servants in the families of the officers of this army, were called, followers of the camp.' The parents of this deceased child, together with some seventeen or eighteen other persons, connected in a like capacity with the camp, had not only embraced the Christian faith, but were in the habit of meeting regularly on Sunday by themselves for worship. After the funeral, the whole company of these 6 a long interview with him. He then learned that they had never enjoyed the instruction of any missionary, or had an opportunity of conversing with any Protestant Christian. Their ancestors resided in a part of India, where a portion of the inhabitants had been led to abandon Pagan idolatry, and embrace the Roman Catholic faith, and they among the number. Educated in this faith, they grew up decided Papists in their views and feelings, not even knowing that there was any other or purer form of Christianity. After having joined the camp, and having now arrived at a period of life in which serious reflections were more frequently awakened in their minds, they often felt deep convictions of sin, and were led, day after day, to prostrate themselves before crucifixes, images, and pictures, in order to soothe a disturbed conscience. There was an old woman attached to the camp, acting in the same capacity with themselves, as a domestic in some officer's family, who had formerly resided at Madras, and had been instructed by Kolhoff, or some of the missionaries connected with that station. She had a copy of the sacred Scriptures, which she was constantly reading, and she used to remark to these individuals, that there was nothing in the Bible about transubstantiation, or kneeling before images, or perpetually crossing one's self, and that these things could never bring peace to a troubled mind. To satisfy them of the truth of what she said, she proposed to read the Scriptures to them, which she did from time to time. The result was, that they became convinced that they were in error, and resolved to gather their creed from the Bible. They obtained a copy of the New Tes tament in the Tamul language, and met together regularly to hear it read. After a while, there providentially fell in their way a copy of the Prayer Book, in the Tamul tongue, which had been published by bishop Heber. Having appointed one of their number as a reader, they now had worship regularly, according to the order of the Prayer Book, on Sundays." Here was a little body of Christians in the midst of India, surrounded by Mohammedan and pagan darkness, conducted to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, not by the voice of a living instructor, but by the silent and simple teaching of a single copy of God's word; and though deprived of all pastoral ministrations, they were enabled to keep up from week to week an edifying worship, by means of a single copy of the Book of Common Prayer. What a proof we have here of the power of God's word! With what confidence may we rely upon it, in sending it forth without note or comment, among the unevangelized na- | tions of the earth! It will not return void, but accomplish what the Lord pleases, and prosper in the thing whereto it is sent.-Glimpses of the Old World. "I COULD NOT HAVE THOUGHT IT." WE frequently hear this expression of surprise at occurrences which, if we gave ourselves a moment's consideration, we must perceive have fallen out exactly in the common course of things. How amazingly one person, though he moves on but at a gentle pace, gets ahead of another, who but for a few moments lingers behind, sits down, or stands still! "What progress he has made in that short time! I could not have thought it." "Yes, you could," said my uncle, "if you had but considered the difference between steady perseverance and absolute inactivity, or if you had been really aware of the time consumed on 'more last words.' You thought it was but a minute or two; it happened that I cast my eyes on the hall clock, and observed that you were just a quarter of an hour later than Frank in starting; I did not expect that you would soon overtake him.' "A quarter of an hour, uncle! Well, no doubt you are right, but I'm sure I could not have thought it; it seemed to me less than five minutes; I thought I should catch him before he got out of the lane." "Perhaps you will learn in future to calculate both time and distance better in the present instance, it was of no great consequence; you only lost the pleasure of a social walk; but I know people who are habitually too late for public worship, too late for a stage coach, too late for almost every appointment, and whose hackneyed excuse is, Surely it is not so late as that, I could not have thought it: the clocks must be wrong.' No, no: the clocks are right enough; but people who fritter time away without consideration, need never wonder at their failures in punctuality: the wonder would be, if they should happen for once to be punctual. I have sometimes been surprised to observe the progress of vegetation; after only a few days' absence in the spring of the year, I can scarcely recognize my own garden: I left it a surface of black mould, merely divided into compartments; now, each of these compartments presents rich stripes of vivid green, or the black mould is completely hidden by a shade of overspreading green. Surrounding houses, which, when I left, formed prominent objects in the scene, are now nearly obscured by the intervening foliage. What a change in so short a time! Really, I could not have thought it! Why not? It is no more than takes place every spring. But we are too apt to overlook the silent but constant progress of nature; we are scarcely aware of the change that is taking place every day before our eyes: but when removed for a few days from the scene, we are astonished at the change that has taken place during our absence; yes, and we are often insensible to the incessant bounties of our God, whose blessings distil upon us, like the morning and evening dew, who daily loadeth us with his benefits. How apt are we to overlook the common blessings of air, light, water! But if for a time removed into a situation less favourable in respect of these common mercies, we are struck with a sense of their value, and could not have thought' how essential they were to our comfort. It is well if occasional privations lead to habitual thankfulness and improvement. Perhaps, too, we could not have thought, because we do not accustom ourselves to think, of the value of the spiritual privileges we constantly enjoy, until some interruption rouses us to consideration, and stimulates us to more diligent improvement in future. Objects with which we were formerly familiar, but which we have not seen for a considerable length of time, appear very different to our imagination, from what they are in reality. 'Is that the lofty mansion in which I passed the days of my childhood? is that really the long long schoolroom, with its eight sash windows side by side? and are those the two majestic firs in front, which my childish imagination identified with those to which the poet compares the spear of Satan,— 'His spear, to equal which the tallest pine Instead of finding them advanced in height by the growth of forty years, they seem shrunk to mere shrubs; and the house appears but a cottage. 'I could not have thought it.' Ah, the objects are the same, but the difference is in my perception. I thought as a child, I understood as a child; I saw things differently; judged of them, not by reality, but by comparison, and reasoned on them falsely. And oh when shall I attain that spiritual maturity that will reduce things to their proper standard, and that will preserve me from judging falsely, in matters of greater moment? When shall I see the world, and the things of the world, as they really are, vain, trifling, insignificant? When shall I acquire the habit of looking with stedfast eye, not on the things which are seen and temporal, but on those which are unseen and eternal? Then, and not till then, shall I realize the consciousness that these trials and afflictions, which seem so heavy and so long continued, and so wearisome, are light,' and 'but for a moment,' and are employed in working out for me a 'far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory?' 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. 6 "I could not have thought it!' (or rather, I did not think it,) 'how small expenses mount up to a serious sum.' It is recorded of a certain eminent physician, that he daily visited an intimate friend during a lingering illness, and was daily presented with a fee, which he stedfastly declined. His friend at length recovered; and when the physician's daily visits became no longer necessary, the patient once more offered him a purse, in which the rejected fee had been regularly deposited: the doctor looked hesitatingly, and after a momentary struggle accepted the purse, saying, Singly, I could have gone on declining them for twenty years; but all together-they are irresistible. Many persons have gone on, year after year, insensibly ruining themselves, by daily indulgence in needless expenses, singly so small as to be almost imperceptible; but in time amounting to a fearful aggregate. Should the gross lovers of snuff, tobacco, and stimulating drinks, or the more refined votaries of perfumes, lace, trinkets, etc., be reminded, by some particular circumstance, of the total sum expended by 6 them on these articles in any given period, a year, or three years, or seven years, it is probable they would start with astonishment, if not with incredulity, and say, 'I could not have thought it!' And yet the application of a very little simple arithmetic would soon convince them that it must be so. On the other hand, a person not accustomed to go into the detail of the income and expenditure of religious societies, if told for the first time what proportion is borne by the accumulated pence of the poor to the more splendid contributions of the rich, would at least exclaim, 'I could not have thought it!' It would be well to accustom ourselves to think, and think with practical self application, how soon money put together in small sums mounts up to large ones. How much inconvenience and distress result from the continued indulgence of small, but needless expenses; and how much good might be done by a little steady selfdenial, in matters so small as hardly to bear the name of a sacrifice! "I am very glad to see you,' said an old and intimate friend, ‘it is a long time since we met,-four or five years, I should think: but your memory is better than mine. No doubt you can tell.' 666 Nine years last March we met at 'Nine years! is that nine years ago? I am sure, I could not have thought it.' My friend, have we each spent nine years of usefulness on earth, and are we nine years nearer heaven?' Such appeals tend to give a profitable turn to conversation; and every individual may possess himself of a pretty faithful chronometer, by habitually keeping in view the account hereafter to be given of every year, and day, and hour. "What an alteration has taken place in Maria F! I could not have thought it possible. Do you not remember her, uncle, a pretty merry girl, quite the life of her circle? It seems almost incredible, that a few years should have wrought such a difference. She now appears quite a listless slattern; and there is an expression of discontent and ill humour, of which I should never have thought her smiling face could have been susceptible. Has she been the subject of severe illness, or has she met with any peculiar trials, to occasion so great a change ?" 66 No," replied my uncle, "I believe she has not more than the common share of fatigues and troubles in the married life but you must have been ignorant | angry scolding; but the fact was, I had of the young lady's real character, and never thought about it. It happened caught by a showy exterior, or you would that her husband, who was a great hortinot imagine that you saw in her so sur- culturist, begged some cuttings from a prizing a change. Maria F 's gaiety, plant in my garden; in return, he inat the time you saw her, was not that of vited me to walk in his, and select any cheerful contentment and benevolence, varieties that might be new to me. In but that of gratified vanity. It was when passing to the garden, most unfortunately her pretty face and sprightly sallies had the kitchen door stood open, and disturned the heads of half the young men covered the delicate lady pouring forth in the neighbourhood, (I am glad, Sa- upon her servant maid a torrent of the muel, they did not quite succeed with most vulgar and violent abuse, for some you;) when she just had what she trifling misdemeanor. Verily, I could wished; that she kept up an appearance not have thought it! But that, like the of good humour. And when, in order to former example, was many years ago; obtain what she chiefly coveted, admir- and I have since had frequent occasions ation, it was necessary that her ap- to observe that softness of manners in pearance should be attractive, then she company is not always the companion of could condescend to pay the requisite true gentleness and kindness of heart. attention to personal neatness. But these incentives will not always last; and if the habits of good humour and neatness have been sustained on no higher principle than the love of admiration, they will soon disappear, when the excitement that produced them is over. I have seen a few instances of an entrance on the cares and duties of domestic life proving the occasion of rousing young women to the exercise of better dispositions, and the cultivation of better habits than those by which they were characterized in early life, and this to a degree beyond all previous calculation: it has indeed surprized me. But to see a vain selfish girl settle down into a slatternly peevish wife, is so exceedingly common, and so perfectly natural a thing, that I am never tempted to say, 'I could not have thought it. "Poor Mr. and Mrs. Selby! I am exceedingly grieved for them; they must be overwhelmed, at meeting such unkindness and neglect under their present affliction, from one who was under such obligations to them, and had professed so much friendship for them. I really could not have thought it of him." "Ah, Samuel," said my uncle, "if you live long in the world, you will cease to wonder at the instability of worldly friendships; you will most likely not only grieve for others smarting from the fickleness of professed friends, but will yourself_experience something of the same. I am not greatly surprized at the conduct of Harris, for I always looked upon him as a selfish sycophant; and though our dear friends are in very trying and afflictive circumstances, to which his defection may inflict an additional pang, I do not at all fear their being overwhelmed. Their principles are firm,. and affliction will only endear to them those consolations which no storm can disturb. David,' observes Matthew Henry, had in his time waded through a great deal of difficulty, which gave him great experience of God's goodness.' I bowed in deference to my uncle's remarks, though I confess I thought them rather harsh; but I was a young man then. I have now nearly attained the age at which my uncle uttered these sentiments, and have seen a little of life; but I cannot call to mind one instance that, in this particular, controverts my uncle's judgment. Much of the surprize I have, in some former paper, referred expressed in "I could not have thought to a relation of our family, a widow lady, it, results from ignorance of human who was very highly respected by my nature, which more extensive observ- uncle, not so much on account of his ination and longer experience will correct. timacy with herself and her husband, I remember a lady who always in when they were living in opulence, as on company assumed airs of softness and account of the Christian magnanimity gentleness; I had only met her in ge- with which she bore a reverse of circumneral society, and had formed no parti- stances, and her indefatigable exertions cular opinion of her character. Cer- on behalf of her family. The daughter tainly it had never occurred to me, that of this lady was a most amiable and inshe could speak in a tone above a whis-teresting girl; and from her education, per, much less that she was capable of and family connexion, as well as from her |